NEW BIOCATALYTIC PLATFORMS FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF HIGHLY VALUABLE COMPOUNDS THROUGH INTENSIFIED BIOPROCESSES
type: CreativeWork
description: This PhD thesis is focused on developing and optimising biocatalytic platforms to obtain high valuable products in a more sustainable way compared to classical chemical synthesis, focusing the research on alcohols oxidation, synthesis of nitriles and de-glycosylation of glycosides. A particular effort has been devoted towards the study of the best immobilisation solutions for the different biocatalysts employed, in order to maximise the productivity and stability of the platform, using flow reactors in some biotransformations. This thesis has been structured in four different chapters: At first, this thesis focused on the use of a whole-cell system to perform biooxidations of benzyl alcohols mediated by endogenous dehydrogenases of acetic acid bacteria (AAB), getting access to the corresponding carboxylic acids. As key study, I studied the selective de-symmetrisation of 1,4-phenylenedimethanol to the corresponding monoacid 4-hydroxymethyl benzoic acid, an important building block in organic chemistry. The employment of a whole-cell immobilisation approach inside alginate beads allowed an efficient development of a flow system to selectively obtain the desired monocarboxylic acid in a continuous way, avoiding byproducts and the formation of the unwanted dicarboxylic acid (terephthalic acid). Secondly, I focused my attention on the development of an effective synthesis of nitriles avoiding cyanation agents or other toxic compounds by performing a simple dehydration of oximes in water. This process, possible thanks to aldoxime dehydratase enzymes (Oxds), has been optimised to overcome the limited stability of these groups of biocatalysts as well as to maximise productivity. Thanks to a whole-cell entrapment into an alginate matrix, the operational stability of this system was significantly improved. The employment of a flow reactor has further increased the productivity of this biotransformation. Thirdly, I developed a photo-bio cascade to synthesise benzonitriles star…
abstract: This PhD thesis is focused on developing and optimising biocatalytic platforms to obtain high valuable products in a more sustainable way compared to classical chemical synthesis, focusing the research on alcohols oxidation, synthesis of nitriles and de-glycosylation of glycosides. A particular effort has been devoted towards the study of the best immobilisation solutions for the different biocatalysts employed, in order to maximise the productivity and stability of the platform, using flow reactors in some biotransformations. This thesis has been structured in four different chapters: At first, this thesis focused on the use of a whole-cell system to perform biooxidations of benzyl alcohols mediated by endogenous dehydrogenases of acetic acid bacteria (AAB), getting access to the corresponding carboxylic acids. As key study, I studied the selective de-symmetrisation of 1,4-phenylenedimethanol to the corresponding monoacid 4-hydroxymethyl benzoic acid, an important building block in organic chemistry. The employment of a whole-cell immobilisation approach inside alginate beads allowed an efficient development of a flow system to selectively obtain the desired monocarboxylic acid in a continuous way, avoiding byproducts and the formation of the unwanted dicarboxylic acid (terephthalic acid). Secondly, I focused my attention on the development of an effective synthesis of nitriles avoiding cyanation agents or other toxic compounds by performing a simple dehydration of oximes in water. This process, possible thanks to aldoxime dehydratase enzymes (Oxds), has been optimised to overcome the limited stability of these groups of biocatalysts as well as to maximise productivity. Thanks to a whole-cell entrapment into an alginate matrix, the operational stability of this system was significantly improved. The employment of a flow reactor has further increased the productivity of this biotransformation. Thirdly, I developed a photo-bio cascade to synthesise benzonitriles star…
author: NESPOLI, LUCA
language: eng
keywords: Biocatalysi, Flow chemistry, Flow-biocatalysi, Agro-waste valorisation, enzyme, aldoxyme dehydratase, glycosidase, Photochemistry, Chemo-enzymatic cascade, enzyme immobilisation, whole-cell immobilisation, Settore CHEM-07/C - Chimica e biotecnologia delle fermentazioni, Settore CHEM-05/A - Chimica organica, Settore CHEM-07/B - Chimica degli alimenti, Settore CHEM-04/A - Chimica industriale, Settore BIOS-07/A - Biochimica
date published: 2025-12-16
date modified: 2026-07-27T20:18:48Z
provider: Università degli Studi di Milano
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Università degli Studi di Milano

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property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1200063